[ I'VE LOST MY PLACE ] -- reigh

[kiernanrobinson]

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the dawn is breaking, a light shining through
I'M TANGLED UP IN YOU
OUT OF THE DOUBT THAT FILLS MY MIND I SOMEHOW FIND YOU AND I COLLIDE.
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By some incredible quirk of fate, Kiernan Robinson found himself in a place that he had rarely ever visited in his years Murphy Academy. Indeed, had the grand library any human-like qualities it would have been quite surprised to see the media major stepping foot inside it's elegant boundaries. For Kiernan, the library held both some pleasant and some rather boring memories. At the moment, he was quite content to reminisce on those pleasant ones. A smug half-smile crossed his face as he moved further into the grandiose library. He was remembering a rather eventful night with a cute and very friendly blonde. When his light blue eyes caught the expression of the librarian, however, he quickly pushed such thoughts from his mind. It would be embarrassing indeed to be caught in such a state as he quickly coming to develop after being caught in the gaze of such an ugly old crone. Flashing his signature grin at the woman, he allowed his dimples to appear. Normally, Kier would be loath to show the quality that, in his opinion, cheapened his brooding good looks. Yes, he was that self-absorbed. Not one of his better qualities, he would readily admit, but it worked for him and there was that whole saying about not messing with perfection.

Ah, arrogance abound, he thought dryly. Kiernan was well aware of his faults, perhaps too aware. Coming from a large family, it was quite easy to get lost in the shuffle. As it happened, it was also common practice for the children in the family to get compared to one another whilst growing up. The Robinson clan was just that competitive with one another. It was like a 'my horse is bigger than yours' competition with their progeny. Only more like, my son has this going for him or my daughter is prodigiously talented at that. Needless to say, family reunions (which were more like monthly gatherings) were hell. When he'd been younger, he hadn't been able to understand why his family did what they did. It had actually been something of a joke among him and his cousins who were around his age. As he'd gotten older, however, the pressure to find his niche to be driven and successful and have a life plan began to exceed anything that Kiernan had ever thought the Robinsons capable of.

At age ten, his slightly-mediocre talent at photography was discovered. Quite by accident, actually. He'd thought he was only doing a project for an art class at his school. His parents had been proud that it had gotten a good grade and had been chosen for the yearly student art showcase. If Kiernan had known that he'd soon be forced into extracurricular film classes after that, he'd have drawn stick figures and gladly taken the lower grade. For his eleventh birthday, his was bought a high priced video camera and film editing equipment. By the time he was twelve, he'd been accepted to Murphy Academy and shipped off to the Irish boarding school. It wasn't that Kiernan disliked all the writing, filming, and editing that went into being a media major. In fact, he rather enjoyed it. He constantly walked around with the same camera he'd gotten, even though he'd been given much better ones in the past couple of years. He liked seeing things through the lense, liked the different angles and the lighting. What he didn't like was the pressure coming from back home. Or, to put a finer point on it, from his father. But pressure was a part of life. Kiernan had accepted it. Or, rather, he was used to it. When it's apart of your life in particular from a very young age, you become rather conditioned to it being a part of your personality and decision making process from the start.

Shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his tailored designer jeans, Kiernan wet his lips as he moved through the stacks. Though he gave off the air of complete confidence, he was actually quite at a loss. He'd only come here because the subject of his new project had required some research. And research required sources. Where else was better to look for research sources than the library? At least, that seemed to be the consensus. So here he was, trying to do research and having no idea where to start. It probably would have been a good idea to Google something about the Dewey Decimal System -- but one of Kiernan's major downfalls was impulsiveness. He tended to jump into things without thinking them through properly. Most of the time, it ended up okay. Though there had been a few unfortunate incidents, but he liked to block out unpleasant memories. Sometimes, Kiernan Robinson was the very embodiment of the George Santayana quote. Those who do not learn from their history are doomed to repeat it.

Standing in the middle of the aisle, he stared blankly at the leather bound volumes in hopes that he would suddenly become enlightened as to how a library works. It probably wasn't the brightest idea he'd ever had, but he didn't know what else to do. Maybe he was incidentally in the place he needed to be. Probably not, but maybe.

[reighleighbraxton]

Good things always happened to her in the library, or at least, that’s the way Reighleigh Braxton saw it. Her first year at Murphy, maybe a week into the semester, Reigh had stumbled upon her best friend, Gideon Evertree, in the library. Of course, it had taken some convincing to get the boy to even be her friend – Gid was ridiculously shy – but once she had pestered him enough, he finally broke down. Even though he was a year older than her, by the end of that school year, they’d been attached at the hip. In a way, the two balanced each other out, with Reighleigh being so loud and Gideon being so quiet. Ever since that fateful meeting with Gideon, the library had become one of her favorite hideaways in the school. It was one of the only places she was allowed reprieve from the bustling student life of Murphy Academy; mostly because most of the students surrounding her weren’t studiers.

The library was also the perfect place for Reigh to people-watch. The girl loved to curl up in a chair, under the guise of reading or listening to her I-pod, and just watch people. The students who did happen to stumble into the school library covered the entire spectrum of social statuses, and Reighleigh found most of them ridiculously interesting. Some of them were sad, some were so happy it made her happy. She could name three or four times when she’d watched a girl open a text message and let out a squeal, and numerous times she’d seen a guy trying to distract his girlfriend from her studying. She’d even witnessed a twelve-year-old hitting on the ancient librarian once – Reigh had almost fallen out of her seat laughing.

And sometimes, when the people were particularly interesting, she would slip her sketchpad out of the messenger bag at her feet, rest it against her knees, and draw them. Her closest friends made fun of her sometimes for drawing pictures of random strangers, but honestly, it was more fun than drawing people she actually knew. Sometimes, when she was seriously absorbed in what she was doing, she would make things up about them while she drew. It probably wasn’t a healthy habit, Reigh would admit that, but it was entertaining. She always, always made their lives better than hers, though, at least in her head. She would never want anyone to live through what she had to live through daily, especially when she was at home. Because at home, the yelling never stopped and the beating was constant. And at home, broken beer bottles weren’t strange things to come across in the kitchen floor early in the morning. At Reighleigh’s home, back in the grimy suburbs of London, it wasn’t strange to find the young girl tending to her mother’s bruised and/or bleeding face. The sanity she’d found upon arriving at Murphy on a scholarship was the best thing that had ever happened to her, at least this far in to her young life. She wouldn’t give that up for anything.

Just as her thoughts were about to consume her, someone walked past her chair, so close to her that she could have reached out and touched them. Startled, Reigh glanced up, and found her eyes glued to the person walking away from her. She could tell, even from his back, that it was Kiernan Robinson, and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up a little. The dark-haired girl couldn’t really say that she knew Kiernan, because they didn’t really know each other. The few times they had spoken, however, had ended rather badly; not only did their personalities clash, Gideon was a bit of a factor in Reigh’s dislike for Kiernan. Gideon hadn’t told her what had happened between the two of them, and Reighleigh wasn’t going to push, but either way, she felt as if Kiernan had alienated his cousin. Because indeed, Gideon Evertree and Kiernan Robinson were cousins.

Even though she wasn’t exactly fond of Robinson, however, didn’t mean she couldn’t admire him from afar. There was just something about him, about the way he moved, that made her hands itch for a pencil, and before she knew it, she had the sketchpad in her lap. Her hands were moving without her consent: she didn’t even realize she was doing it. Reigh was just watching him, and drawing, and watching him, and drawing, and before she knew it, Kiernan Robinson was staring up at her from the paper, a smirk on his face and his hands shoved into his pockets. She stared at the drawing for a moment, awe-stuck. It was probably one of the best she’d ever done – maybe even the best – and she couldn’t believe she’d just done it. She’d drawn Kiernan Robinson, of all people, and for some reason, that made her angry with herself. Huffily, she slammed the book shut and shoved it into her bag. Whatever she did, though, she knew she couldn’t throw that away. It was too… real.

Biting her lip at her own stupidity, she glanced back up at Robinson. When she realized how confused he looked, she allowed herself to smile. Honestly, the guy was a bit of an idiot. Who could get lost in a library? She continued to watch him and he continued to watch the books, his eyes scanning over them. But she could tell he had no idea what he was doing. Smirking, she got to her feet and shouldered her bag, moving to stand only a few feet away from Robinson and lean against the shelf. Reigh crossed her arms across her chest and tilted her head mockingly before finally speaking.

“Lost, Robinson? Because I didn’t think you knew how to read much of anything. Maybe your name. Or the results of a pregnancy test. But an actual book? Blasphemy!”

[kiernanrobinson]

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the dawn is breaking, a light shining through
I'M TANGLED UP IN YOU
OUT OF THE DOUBT THAT FILLS MY MIND I SOMEHOW FIND YOU AND I COLLIDE.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kiernan felt the presence at his side before he saw the annoying little brunette. He should have known she would be there, of course, she was usually around when he neither wanted or needed her to be. It was only when he was actually doing something impressive that the girl was no where to be found. No, she only ever popped up at the least opportune times -- like now, when he was feeling like an idiot for not knowing how to use a library. Reighleigh Braxton had to be one of the most infuriating people on the entire planet. If she was even human. He couldn't be too sure sometimes, when that devilish glare turned his way. Usually, Kiernan could ignore her long enough to get away. It wasn't all that hard, all he had to do was mention something about his cousin Gideon and she'd go scampering off to find the irritatingly perfect musician. So, yeah, Kier wasn't on great terms with the only other family member of his that attended Murphy's. But that was another story entirely.

"Hardy har har," Kiernan replied sarcastically, turning his blue-eyed gaze on Braxton. He kept his expression as relaxed as possible as he looked her over. Even if he was a trifle confused standing there in the middle of the library, she certainly didn't have to know that. The corner of his mouth turning up in a smirk, he let his eyes roam lasciviously down the girl's petite body. Maybe if she became uncomfortable enough, she'd leave of her own volition. It wasn't that unpleasant of a site either -- though he'd never admit it to her, even if he were being violently tortured. "What would you know of pregnancy tests?" He asked, his tone one of mock innocence. "I didn't think my coz was proficient enough to get it up let alone enough to knock up even a prude like you." Kiernan shrugged, pulling his hands out of his pockets enough for him to cross his arms over his chest in a posture similar to the girl's standing in front of him.

"Then again," he continued, lowering his voice. Chewing on the corner of his mouth for a moment, he leaned forward in the space between them, dramatically lowering his voice. "He probably merely hugged you and you thought your virtue stolen." Rolling his shoulder blades back, Kiernan straightened his posture. Nonchalantly he stepped away from her, hoping he'd done enough to send her away. He busied himself with one of the books on the shelf, not really reading the title imprinted on the binding. In all honesty, his mind was so far and away from the place at hand (a.k.a. on what was going on inside the head of the girl he'd just thoroughly insulted) that he could having been fingering the worn binding of the Kama Sutra and not be interested at all. Which was actually saying something about Kiernan's mental state. As much as he'd told himself that he'd said the things he had in order to run Reighleigh off, he knew subconsciously that they would only rile the girl -- making her stay a little bit longer.

It was a problem he barely recognized, so he hadn't as yet thought of a way to cure himself of such a toxic habit. He did know, however, that she wouldn't simply walk away from him after that. Even if they would have it out in front of the entire library, he was looking forward to it. It was sick and twisted and thoroughly exciting to him. It was better than her running off to be with Gideon again. Kiernan knew as well as anyone that his cousin was the better one out of their family. He was everything he ought to be: kind, talented, gentlemanly, and universally respected and admired. Kiernan, on the other hand, was obnoxious and blunt and had enemies out the wazoo. Hell, half the professors at the school had wagered him failing within the first two years of him being at the school. He knew they were all surprised every time he managed to complete a year at the academy. None of them saw talent in him beyond what was average and mediocre. Not even Kiernan saw it. Everyone saw why Gideon was at the school, everyone wanted him here and thought he deserved the scholarship that paid the Evertree boy's tuition.

Kiernan knew all of this, knew that he could never be compared to his cousin without looking like a failure. He accepted it. All that mattered was that he was getting the education he needed to realize his dream of becoming a film director. It just irked him that Reighleigh Braxton, of all people, had decided against him. Why exactly this was, he didn't know. He'd never done anything to the girl that he knew of. The only possible reason was that Gideon had told her what had happened. Well, his version anyway. Of course that would paint him in a bad light. As an evil, sadistic person with no thought for anything other than himself. Which, he supposed, could have been the kind of idea anyone would have drawn about him had they only seen the things Gideon had seen. But Gideon had also known him better than anyone else in his family -- in his entire life even. Even if the kid had believed what he'd seen, he would have known that it wasn't probably the truth and asked him about it. Should have, anyway.

But Gideon hadn't done what he should have, like Kiernan hadn't been doing what he should have that night either. Instead of talking about it, though, his cousin had just gone off on him for no reason. And that had been the end of their friendship. Now, Kier could only assume that Gideon was sharing his thoughts about him with the Braxton girl. For some reason, such an idea hurt more than it should. Hurt him and pissed him off. Unfortunately, it was Reighleigh who usually got the brunt of it because she was the only contact Kiernan had had with his cousin for almost three years. In his mind, however, all of his irritation and anger and, sometimes, cruelty were all direct results of the girl herself. To a degree, he supposed, it was true the Braxton incited the darker qualities in his personality. But there were deeper, underlying issues that even Kiernan couldn't see or understand.

[reighleighbraxton]

If there was one thing about Kiernan Robinson that Reighleigh had come to expect, it was his stupid, sarcastic way of making conversation. She was slightly immune to his comments by now. Not completely immune, but slightly – the edge had worn off of them after the first few times they’d quarreled. Of course, he could still hurt her feelings with a well-aimed barb, but those times came less and less. Recently, she’d learned to blow off most of Kiernan’s insults, and even laugh at some of them – inwardly, of course. So while she was walking towards Robinson, Reighleigh had mentally prepared herself for his expected words. What she wasn’t prepared for, however, was the he looked at her.

He was deliberately making her feel uncomfortable, and she knew that. There was no way to know how many girls he’d looked at like that – the number was probably outstanding. The brunette girl should have punched him, and honestly, she felt like doing just that. But his eyes on her like that made her flush completely red and look away from him in a very un-Reighleigh-like manner. Crossing her arms, she closed her eyes and mentally counted to ten, her lips moving a bit as she did it. She didn’t want to have a shouting match in the middle of the library. Of course, she probably should have thought of that before approaching Robinson, but she hadn’t really been thinking at the moment. She’d just wanted to take her mind off of the sketch that was now resting in her backpack. Reigh swallowed and looked back at Kiernan, her face flushed even brighter.

Biting her lip, she forced herself to concentrate on his words – although that may have been a bad idea. Of course, he had to bring Gideon into it. There weren’t very many “conversations” Reighleigh had with Kiernan where he didn’t find some way or another to insult Gid. And this wasn’t the first time he’d hinted at she and Gideon being… together, but it was certainly the most crude he’d ever been. Rolling her eyes, she moved her hand to her hip and frowned at him. “Sometimes, Robinson, your immaturity still amazes me. I honestly don’t understand why anyone would be interested in you.” Her gaze dropped to her feet, because that was a lie; just because she couldn’t stand the moron didn’t mean she couldn’t see his appeal. He was attractive, he was fairly wealthy, he was funny when he wasn’t being an ass. Unfortunately, he was an asshole ninety-nine point nine percent of the time, so there was really no point in zoning in on his good qualities. Clenching her fist at her side, she glanced back up, only to find him entirely too close to her.

Eyes widening, Reigh put her hands on his chest and shoved. Seeing as she was about a third of his size, however, the push had the opposite effect of that desired. After putting all of her weight behind it, Robinson still didn’t move – and Reigh did. Stumbling, she feel forward, straight onto Kiernan. Groaning at her own stupidity, she scurried away from him, quickly pushing the thought of his firm chest from her mind. Instead, she steeled her thoughts and immediately snapped back at him with a retort of her own. “Wrong, Robinson. You see, I’m not particularly worried about my virginity being stolen by Gideon. That’s the difference between you and your cousin. Gideon has some semblance of class, where you just take what you can get and go from there. Gideon is a gentleman. Gideon is the complete opposite of YOU.” Crossing her arms again, Reigh watched as Kiernan picked up a random book from the shelf and turned it over in his hands. For a moment, the girl didn’t pay any attention to the book, because she was too busy paying attention to the boy holding it. But when she finally noticed the literature in his hands, she couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Clasping her hands over her mouth so that she wasn’t so loud, she took a few moments to stop laughing and calm down. Either Robinson was planning on hooking up with some seriously creepy girl, or he was as flustered by their encounter as she was. She was leaning towards the second theory, because although she’d said he didn’t have standards, he didn’t exactly look like the type to chase after a Wicca. Reaching over his arm and ignoring the warmth of his large hands, Reigh snatched the book and turned it over, reading the synopsis out loud. “Wiccan rites of passage are covered in a book which will appeal to and educate any who have heard of the working coven…” she allowed her voice to trail off at the end of the first sentence and glanced up at Robinson. “Seriously? I didn’t know you were into voodoo.”

Smirking, Reighleigh danced backwards out of his reach and turned the book over to examine the cover. “And you seemed so enthralled, too. Maybe I should read it, if it’s interesting enough to make you pick up a book.” Sarcasm was practically dripping from her voice, and she shoved the book onto a shelf beside her. She couldn’t stop the smirk on her face, however, because it was too humorous to her. Kiernan Robinson, who thought himself the king of smooth, had just made himself look like an idiot – again.